The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General released a memo on Thursday confirming the problem of communicable diseases that are being spread throughout detention centers.

The OIG outlined a two-week report from the beginning of the month on
the detention of Unaccompanied Alien Children. According to DHS IG John
Roth’s memo to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, the IG office continues to
make unannounced site visits to numerous detention centers along the
southern border where Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are
temporarily sheltering UACs.
The IG says they did not observe any misconduct or inappropriate
conduct of DHS employees during their unannounced visits and did not
receive any new complaints during their random interviews of UACs.
However, the IG office stressed the problem of communicable diseases
that are being spread at the detention centers.“Many UAC and family units require treatment for communicable
diseases, including respiratory illnesses, tuberculosis, chicken pox,
and scabies,” the IG report said. “UAC and family unit illnesses and
unfamiliarity with bathroom facilities resulted in unsanitary conditions
and exposure to human waste in some holding facilities.” The report
continued:

Contract cleaners and OHS employees are working to maintain
sanitary conditions. DHS employees reported exposure to communicable
diseases and becoming sick on duty. For example, during a recent site
visit to the Del Rio USBP Station and Del Rio Port of Entry, CBP
personnel reported contracting scabies, lice, and chicken pox. Two CBP
Officers reported that their children were diagnosed with chicken pox
within days of the CBP Officers’ contact with a UAC who had chicken pox.
In addition, USBP personnel at the Clint Station and Santa Teresa
Station reported that they were potentially exposed to tuberculosis.

A senior spokesman for the CDC told Marc Siegel at Slate.com
that HHS is spearheading medical services for facilities in southwest
Texas and Arizona. According to Slate, it takes two to three weeks “for a
vaccine to confer protection, [so] more cases of flu are likely within
the centers. It is also possible that the disease will spread to the
local community and beyond.”Additionally, the IG report says that DHS employees are “donating
clothing, toys, and games to UAC and family units,” as well as buying
food “with their own money, to supplement contract food supplies.”